Finding Forever
by simply-aly
Summary: Elijah shows up during the werewolf fight and helps Caroline after she makes an almost fatal mistake. But helping then has unforeseen consequences for Elijah, Caroline, Damon, and Tyler. *Elijah/Caroline, Damon/Caroline, Tyler/Caroline*
1. Chapter 1:  Blood and Trust

**Author's Note**: This was started before 'Daddy Issues' aired, so I took liberties with the situation surrounding Caroline's capture and what the werewolves knew about the curse.

**Chapter 1: Blood and Trust **

If there is one thing Caroline has learned since the Salvatore brothers have come to Mystic Falls, it is that she _hates_ being used as a pawn in the games of others.

She remembers the way Damon used her in his game to hurt Stefan and Elena; she was too stupid and too naïve to know what he was doing to her back then. Now, she knows better than to let anyone use her like that. After that mess was sorted out and he left her alone, there was Katherine using her in her scheme, killing her and forcing her to spy on her best friend by threatening Matt. All so she could get to Elena.

Now the werewolves are using her as a pawn in a game she won't even pretend to understand. She knows they want revenge for what happened to Mason, and she knows they want to break the curse. And, of course, she really shouldn't be surprised that it all has something to do with _Elena_, because she's the doppelganger.

She's had a long time to think, being kept in this cage for who knows how long. The time is only being broken up when Brady decides to torture her some more with that damn gun. The pain from that gun is unbearable and she's sure her screams are heard for miles. And it hurts her even more to know that Tyler's around somewhere not doing anything to stop her pain—even after all she did for him. She's beginning to hate her situation and those who've put her in it.

She's doesn't know how long she's been here, but it's been a long time since she's fed, and lack of blood and so much pain has made her ravenous. One of the worst things about being a vampire, Caroline's decided, is that when she gets hungry, she tends to get a little emotional. Right now, she's scared and angry and she can't even look at Tyler when he comes down to speak with Jules or Brady. She just faces the wall and shuts everything out until they're all gone, until she's alone. Then she cries.

Eventually, she hears the sound of the cage opening. "Come on, little bloodsucker," says Brady. "Playtime's over, it's time to end this."

She doesn't fight, doesn't have the energy to do so anymore, so she resorts to pathetic whimpering and tries to catch Tyler's guilty eyes. He won't look at her, though, and he walks away so he doesn't have to hear her, or at least, that's what she assumes when he runs ahead.

They end up leading her out into the forest, maybe the edge of the Lockwood property, she doesn't really know. She doesn't ask why they're there, she already knows. They want the moonstone to break the curse and they're trading her for it. At least, that's what they've told Tyler, but when Tyler's not around, they talk of betrayal and deceit.

They know that to break the curse they need a werewolf and a vampire as well; they're not going to use one of themselves as the wolf and they won't be able to catch another vampire. It's her and Tyler, and she needs to get him alone to tell him so.

Luckily, fate seems to agree with her for Brady, who'd been half-dragging half-carrying her, throws her to the ground unceremoniously. "Tyler," he commands, "watch her while we secure the perimeter."

Tyler nods and sits in front of her, his eyes downcast. She read the guilt in his posture the moment he took notice of the blood caked to her clothes. It shouldn't take much to convince him of the truth.

"They're not—they're not gonna let me go," she whispers.

Tyler looks at her now, surprise etched in his features. "Yes they are," he insists, "once they have the moonstone—"

"—once they have the moonstone they can break the curse," she interrupts. "Did you know that to break it, you need a vampire and a werewolf as well as the doppelganger? So, not only are they going to _kill_ Elena, but there's a good chance they'll kill me too. And do you really think they'll kill one of their own? No, it'll be you because you're expendable to them."

Tyler shakes his head. "No, they just need a witch to undo the curse, that's what she told me," he says. "The curse is in the moonstone, they just need to take it out…."

Caroline reaches out a hand, touching his shoulder tentatively. "They lied to you, Tyler. They needed your cooperation so they lied."

"They said you were a part of what happened to mason," he mumbles, looking back at the ground.

Caroline sees the way he's searching his memory, trying to hold onto some grain of truth in their story. "No," she says. "I knew about what Damon did to him, but he only did it because Mason was working with Katherine who was a threat to Elena."

"And they took you, said you'd get what you deserved. Did they mean death?" Tyler looks up at her, fear reflected in his eyes. "Caroline, I—I don't want to see you die. I don't want to die either." He looks around and makes a decision. "We have to get out of here, we have to leave now. I betrayed you once before, but I won't now."

He stands up and tries to pull her to her feet, but she stumbles before she fully stands and falls back down to the ground. "I'm too weak, Tyler," she tells him. "I haven't eaten in…so long." She feels about ready to cry.

Tyler offers his wrist to her. "Drink from me," he suggests.

Caroline shakes her head, "I won't do that to you, not now. You need your strength. You have to fight. We're stuck here till it's all over—we have to wait it out."

"I won't let you die," Tyler says. "I'll protect you,"

Caroline's eyes widen marginally at that. "Don't endanger yourself," she warns, "do not die for me." Tyler nods, but she sees the look in his eye. He meant what he said; he'll protect her, even at the expense of his own life. She wants to tell him not to, but she knows it'll be useless, so she nods and they go quite between them. For this to work, they can't appear to have spoken at all.

The others come back soon and Brady starts taunting her again. And she knows Tyler can't speak out against him, can't even look at her for fear of giving them away, so she takes his taunts and a few more bullets, her screams brining the vampires to the vicinity faster, she supposes, because all of a sudden, through the burning haze of pain, she hears Elena screaming her name.

Brady's holding her close so she can't even try to run, and she's trying not to cry, trying even harder to keep from looking at Tyler. She feels so alone and scared and she doesn't want to die, doesn't want this to be how she goes.

"Hand Caroline over and we'll give you the moonstone," she hears Stefan say.

Jules laughs manically. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" she asks, tauntingly. "No. You killed one of ours; we think it is only fair if we get to kill one of yours."

And then Brady's forcing Caroline to kneel on the ground, execution style and Caroline hears Bonnie gasp and Elena cry out. "No, you can't do that." Caroline doesn't believe they'll kill her now. They need to do the spell and break the curse first, but she doesn't think they'll leave without their thirst for revenge fulfilled.

Tyler then uses this opportunity to seem outraged. "You didn't say anything about killing her," he accuses Jules. "You said you just wanted the moonstone!"

"I said she'd get what she deserves. She's a vampire, Tyler, your enemy. You need to know how to take care of your enemies before they take care of you—just look at what happened to Mason."

"You lying, manipulative bitch," Tyler growls, moving predatorily toward her.

Damon, never one to take a serious situation seriously, has to add, "I could have told you that, young wolf-boy." Things get fuzzy for Caroline after that.

Brady shoots her once again with that damned gun, and Tyler loses it, going after Brady. Stefan goes for Jules and Damon starts working on the other werewolf minions. Elena and Bonnie are working on a spell, trying to stay out of the way, being protected by Alaric and Jeremy. But Caroline's left alone in her haze of pain and this bullet must have been the one that broke the proverbial camel's back, because she can no longer resist the smell of blood in the air.

Tyler knocks Brady to the ground only feet from her and she makes her way over to him and sinks her teeth into his neck, sucking greedily. The blood euphoria doesn't last long, however, because all of a sudden, her throat starts to burn and she cries out.

Elena's screaming again, and Caroline can't focus on much because she's crying out too. "It hurts," she's saying, "it _really _hurts, make it stop!"

Jules, pinned down by Stefan, is laughing. "You can't drink werewolf blood," she's saying manically, "it's poisonous to vampires." Caroline starts to cry because she thinks she's going to die now. It can't be much different then a bite, right? She's going to die like Rose. And Jules is laughing and she hates the sound of it because she really doesn't want that to be the last thing she hears before she dies.

"Would someone _please_ shut her up!" Caroline screams in agony.

Then, without any warning, blood is being splattered from all directions as someone faster than even the vampires can see eradicates all the werewolves. All of a sudden, they're all splattered with blood and someone Caroline thinks is absolute perfection is standing in the clearing right in front of Elena.

Bonnie's chanting stops, and Elena's eyes widen as she softly says one word. "Elijah?"


	2. Chapter 2:  Threads of Emotion

**Author's Note:** This took longer than I thought it would to upload. Because of recent events in cannon, I have decided to take this story in a different direction than originally planned, and in doing so, have had to revamp (ignore the pun) the next few chapters.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Threads of Emotion**

Whoever this Elijah person is, he pays no attention to Elena at the moment, but instead is solely focused on Caroline as she cries in agony. He takes a decisive step toward her and is immediately blocked by both Tyler and Damon, and while she expects as much from Tyler, Damon's protecting her surprises her. She tends to forget that there's a bond between them as a result of his siring her.

"Not another step," Damon warns him, his voice more threatening than she'd ever heard before.

Elijah doesn't seem to care about Damon's warning, but he doesn't move forward either. "Miss…Caroline—that is your name, is it not?" After Caroline nods slowly, he continues. "I can make the pain stop," he says, his voice soothing her, calming her despite the burning in her mouth and throat and stomach, "but I need you to come here."

Caroline understands that he's an unknown element in this game—he saved them from Jules and Brady, yet Damon's still choosing to protect her from him, like he's a threat—but she understands also that it's her only option, so she takes a step in his direction.

Tyler's eyes widen and he looks into her eyes. Caroline, in that brief moment, tries to convey how much pain she's in. "You can't protect me from what's already happened, Tyler," she whispers, choking on a sob of pain.

Tyler stares at her for a moment but then nods in quiet understanding, stepping aside; but Damon grabs hold of her arm and spins her to face him.

"You will _not_ do this, Caroline," he says and, for the first time in her recollection, she sees something other than anger and bloodlust in his eyes when he looks at her. "I can't lose you too."

"It _hurts_, Damon," she cries, tears falling down her face. "You know—you know I might already be lost."

"I can't let you—I can't…" both his hands are around her wrists and he's holding tightly to them, like she'll actually die if he lets go. "If you die, I don't know if I'll…" he trails off, not able to say the words. There's a look in Damon's eyes, one she never thought she'd see in _his_ eyes. Desperation.

Caroline nods, understanding what he's trying to say. "It's okay—I know. I feel it too."

She ignores it, for the most part, but there's a connection between them; a little strand of something immaterial that tethers them together. And she knows that fear, that strange urge to make sure it cannot be severed. She gets that, because she feels it every time he puts himself in danger for this town or Stefan or Elena or even her just now. That fear that she'll lose him is ever present, usually buried and shadowed by her indignation at the way he had once treated her, but always there.

It is, after all, partly why she ran to him that night of the carnival; she felt that he would help her to fix the problem. And, even though his solution had been to kill her, she doesn't believe he'd of been able to do it. The thought of killing him puts a bad taste in her mouth and an ache in her stomach—a physical reaction to the coursing emotions in her blood. She always suspected he felt the same about her—even if he never showed it.

Now, she sees that he's feeling the same physical effects at the thought of losing her, _really_ losing her. It's so soon after Rose's death that the feelings must be intense if he's protesting aloud. After all, he didn't have this much of a reaction when he found out she was planning on putting her life on the line to help Tyler during the full moon.

"It's the only choice," she whispers, crying tears of sorrow now instead of pain.

"I don't…I don't want you to suffer, so if that means I have to let you—then I guess I will." He lets go of her then and moves out of the way and Caroline takes the opportunity.

She doesn't see the way everyone's looking at her, doesn't see the tears in Elena's and Bonnie's eyes. Her eyes are focused solely on Elijah, who is staring straight back at her. His face wears no expression and he doesn't speak. When she gets close enough, he holds out one of his hands and she gives him hers, trying her best to fight through the pain. He pulls her close and holds her steady in his arms. This was it—he's going to end it.

"Drink," he says, his voice commanding. For a second, she doesn't know what he's talking about—drinking's what got her into this mess. Then she sees his wrist held out in front of her and she doesn't even think about it. Her fangs extend and she bites, sucking greedily at the blood within.

She feels the burning in her mouth subside at the first drop of blood, and as she swallows, the pain in her throat ends. Soon, she doesn't feel any pain at all and at that realization, she stops drinking and looks up at him. "What happened?" she asks.

Elijah looks down at her and she swears she sees the hint of a smile in his features as he wipes away a few dribbles of blood. "I made it stop," he answers, "just as I said I would."

"But—I don't understand—I thought…" she starts, but how does she explain how she thought he was going to kill her?

He seems to understand anyway, for he gestures around the clearing and says, "So did everyone else. There isn't a known cure for werewolf blood poisoning, after all."

"So how did you—" but she doesn't finish, because he's no longer there to ask. Without the support he was giving her, she falls to the ground.

It's Damon who picks her up, cradling her in his arms as he says, "Let's get you home." Caroline nods, and they start walking through the woods, everyone else following suit. Tyler, she notices when she looks over Damon's shoulder, is twenty feet behind everyone else but is staring at her and Damon. When she meets eyes with him, he looks down.

The entire way home she feels how tightly he holds her, the way his body seems to exude relief, and she feels the bond between them tighten. "Is your mom home?" he asks when they get to the front door.

Weakly, Caroline shakes her head, "No, she's working, won't be back 'til late."

"Let's get you cleaned up, then," he says as he walks up the stairs to the second floor bathroom.

He sets her on the counter as he runs a bath, keeps his eyes on hers as he helps her remove her clothes, and helps her in. Damon goes to her room and picks out some clothes for her to wear to bed—and she's not surprised by how revealing they are. However, he does give her some privacy after that, saying he'll be back when she's done. "What are you going to do?" she asks curiously.

"You must be hungry," is all he says before he shuts the door.

She washes her hair until she's sure it'll shine, scrubs the blood from her body, and examines her now healed skin. How miraculous vampirism can be, she muses, as her finger traces the places she knows should have bullet wounds.

She gets out of the bathtub when she hears Damon in her bedroom, dries off with a towel, then puts on the short shorts and tank top outfit Damon picked out for her. She then makes her way to her bedroom where she finds Damon setting up a tray and a glass of blood next to her bed.

"Thank you," she says softly, "for taking care of me."

Damon doesn't say anything at first, just ushers her into bed. Then, when he has her sufficiently tucked in, glass of blood in hand, he speaks. "It's the least I could do after being partly responsible for putting you in this situation."

"It's not your fault," she tells him. "I was just an easy target for them.

"But you wouldn't have even been a target if I hadn't turned you," Damon says, surprising her by speaking so freely about this. "And I didn't even help you afterward. I left that to my brother. You were _my_ responsibility, and I was too self-centered to bother with you like I should have."

Caroline shakes her head. "You saved my life that night in the hospital," she says. "You couldn't have known Katherine was planning on turning me. And, at that time, I don't really think it would have been a good idea for us to be in the same room. We didn't exactly get along back then, if you recall."

"Even still," he insists.

Caroline knows she'll never be able to convince him of his innocence in that regard, so she takes the proffered glass and drinks, surprised by exactly how hungry she is. After she drains the glass, she looks up at Damon, who's wearing his customary smirk, "Did you bring any more?" she asks, her eyes lighting up at the prospect. She feels herself gaining strength from the blood, and she wants a little more.

"Be right back," Damon says, rushing out of her room, the empty glass in hand. Seconds later, he's back with a refilled glass.

Caroline smiles and accepts the glass, sipping the second one in order to make it last longer than the first. Damon sits at the edge of her bed watching her, and she decides she likes this Damon's company.

When the glass is empty, she gives it back to Damon who stands up. "I'm glad you're alive, Caroline," he says as he closes her bedroom door behind him. Caroline smiles as she closes her eyes, it's just like Damon to be so casual after such a serious situation.

Once Damon's gone, Caroline's thoughts turn to Elijah and what he said, and she falls asleep wondering what he meant.


	3. Chapter 3: Blood Connections

**Chapter 3: Blood Connections**

When Caroline opens her eyes the next morning, she listens carefully to find her mother, and when she hears footsteps in the kitchen, she assumes it's her for about three seconds. But it doesn't take her long to notice that the footsteps are a little too heavy.

At first she thinks it's Brady, that he's come back for her, that he wants to _question _her some more and he's found her house to do it in. But she can't hear a heartbeat, so it has to be a vampire. She forces herself to breathe slowly and calm down as she reaches under her bed and pulls out a wooden stake—just in case—then gets slowly out of bed and makes her way down the stairs.

She doesn't breathe—vampires don't really have to, and it helps to keep her quiet when she doesn't want to be noticed—and she takes each step slowly, making sure to make absolutely no noise. When her bare feet hit the cold stone floor, she is overwhelmed by a feeling of dread. Even still, she keeps moving toward the kitchen, listening intently to the sound of glasses are moved around in the cupboard.

The stake is held tightly in her hands and she's trembling as she slowly inches forward but then all of a sudden, the stake is no longer in her possession, and she's being pinned up against the wall.

Instinctively, she closes her eyes at the force of being moved so fast, and when she opens them she sees Elijah pointing the stake at her heart. "You'll never be able to sneak up on an Original, my dear," he chastises, deadly amusement in his voice. He moves the stake away and examines it. "What are you even doing with one of these in the house?" he asks. "Seems like a death wish, if you ask me."

He's holding her against the wall with one hand against her throat. "My mom," Caroline starts, surprised by how easy it is to talk, even with his hand pressing against her throat. He seems to have a talent for delicacy, even while appearing threatening. "My mom knows about vampires, she's on the council—has these all over the house. It's not like I can remove them—she'd get suspicious—so I use them to my advantage."

He lets go of her, as if accepting that answer, and she leans against the wall for support for a second before standing straight up. "I've brought breakfast," he says, gesturing to the table where he has two large glasses of blood set out. "I assumed you'd have questions, and I thought you deserved answers."

Caroline walks slowly over to one of the glasses, carefully watching Elijah's face for any sign of danger, and sits down before taking a cautious sip. She nods in approval when it makes it down her throat without any adverse effects. You can never be too sure, she has learned, when it comes to those with ulterior motives. "How did you know we were there?" she asks, deciding to start simple—as simple as she can, considering the situation.

"I'm keeping a close eye on what happens in Mystic Falls," he says, his hands folded together on the table, looking ever the diplomat. "Protecting my assets, as it were."

"And, what are your assets, exactly?"

"I need your friend Elena safe and alive so I can draw Klaus out of hiding," Elijah says; his voice so _casual_, like he's not talking about his evil plan to get rid of the world's oldest vampire. Caroline finds him fascinating.

And yet it's all about _Elena_ again. He's protecting _Elena_, saving _Elena_, doing whatever it takes to keep _Elena_ from biting the dust. How could she have expected any different? She drinks from the glass of blood as she composes herself, trying to keep her jealousy at bay. Elena's her friend after all, so she really shouldn't feel this way—shouldn't mind that Elena always comes first, that everyone seems to care about Elena more.

"So why did you save me?" Caroline asks after a minuet of silence.

"I promised Elena I'd keep her friends safe—you'd of died if I hadn't, and that would be going back on my word."

"But there isn't, or wasn't, a known cure for when werewolves bite vampires. Now everyone will know. That can't be good for you," Caroline points out, surprising even herself when the words come out. She hasn't even thought that far ahead, at least, she didn't know she has.

"There still isn't a cure for a werewolf _bite_," Elijah says, finally drinking from his glass. "But the blood of an Original can counter the blood of a werewolf in a younger vampire's system; another benefit, if you can call it that, to being an Original. It doesn't work with bites, however, because the same principal, likes with likes, would have to apply, and a vampire bite does nothing for a vampire…aside from being stimulating, of course."

She notices the way he's looking at her as he says that—like he could eat her, and _not_ in a vampires need food to survive kind of way—and she looks down briefly. For the first time since she's woken up, she takes not of the clothing Damon had given her to wear to bed, and wraps her arms around herself in response. All of a sudden she shivers, and she's not sure if it's because of the sudden feeling of cold or if it's a reaction to the way he's looking at her.

Elijah just chuckles a bit before taking another sip of blood.

"Couldn't you have just let me die anyway?" Caroline wonders. "No one would have known that you could have saved me, and your secret would have stayed a secret."

"I mentioned this to your friend but I suppose I'll tell you as well," he informs her with an air of exasperation, "I'm a man of my word, Caroline. I told Elena I'd keep her friends safe and I meant it. Yes, exposing that particular talent of mine was not something I planned on doing when this started, but the situation required it. And something tells me…something tells me that my _saving_ you was not a completely selfless act."

Caroline's eyes widen when he says that. _Not a completely selfless act, not a completely selfless act…_. "What does that mean?" she asks him, her head tilted slightly to the side as her mind thinks over the possible meanings.

Elijah looks at her for a moment with a smirk on his face before speaking, "I am allowed some secrets, don't I, dear Caroline?"

She wonders why he called her that. _Dear Caroline_; it sounds almost affectionate. She wonders why he's so gentle around her, so nice. He doesn't even know her. And he's here to make sure Elena stays safe. In the grand scheme of things—even with his deal with Elena—she doesn't matter. But he saved her—gave her his blood. _Gave her his blood…_.

"About what happened last night, you know, when you saved me…" she hedges, not sure how to bring this up.

"Yes?" he prods, amusement dancing in his otherwise expressionless face.

"Did your blood do anything else, you know, besides destroy the werewolf blood?"

"Why do you ask?" he inquires curiously.

"I just wondered if it could do anything else, if it has any other powers besides that of negating werewolf blood. I mean, I know that there's a blood connection between Damon and I, so I thought it was possible that there could be some kind of effect from drinking your blood. Although, the bond between Damon and I may just be because he turned me, but it seems more…sanguineous. So I wondered if maybe your blood could affect me in any way," she says, summing up her ramblings in the last sentence.

"For a baby vampire, you're pretty smart," he says. "Yes, there is a—how did you put it?—sanguineous connection between maker and child. And, to a lesser extend, there is the same connection when a vampire drinks the blood of another vampire. Even lesser, of course, is the connection of a vampire to a human when a vampire drinks human blood when feelings other than hunger are present.

"When you drank my blood, however, it was a little different. My blood is special, you see, and for your body to get rid of the werewolf blood, it had to infuse my blood into that which is present in yours. So yes, you might experience a sanguineous connection to me, similar to the one you share with the elder Salvatore; for while I did not make you, I played heavily into your continued survival, and your blood knows that."

Caroline can think of no more questions and finishes her breakfast in silence, glancing up at Elijah every few minuets, being careful to never catch his eyes. Her mind is still working to understand what this connection may mean for her future. Does it protect her or does it put her in more danger? When they're both finished, he gets up gracefully and takes the glasses over to the sink and rinses them out. He sets them on the counter and walks out of the kitchen, motioning for her to follow.

He walks in the direction of the front door, and she follows behind him, amusing herself by watching his posture as he walks. He walks through her house like he owns it, not a care in the world, and she feels oddly entranced by his confidence, craves it really.

"I'll be seeing you soon, dear Caroline," he says softly, one hand opening the door, the other hand grasping hers for a brief moment before he walks out the door.

Caroline watches him leave in a blur and after a few seconds of hesitation, she closes the front door. "What was that?" she asks herself slowly as she walks back upstairs so she can change into acceptable clothes.

She calls Elena and Bonnie and Damon and asks for a meeting at the boarding house. "I have news—about Elijah."


	4. Chapter 4:  Something's Changed

**Chapter 4: Something's Changed**

"Let me get this straight," Damon says, refilling his glass of blood and whiskey. "An Original vampire's blood can cure a vampire who has ingested werewolf blood, but there is absolutely no cure for a werewolf _bite_? What fucking rotten luck!"

"That's what he told me," Caroline says, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as Damon summarizes her conversation with Elijah—for the third time. She catches Elena's eyes and the two can't help but start giggling as their eyes travel from Damon, who is now pacing the floor, then back to each other.

"How do we know he's not lying?" Stefan adds, trying to keep the conversation moving and bringing up a good point—in everyone but Caroline's opinion, anyway. "How do we know you don't still have a death sentence hanging over your head?"

"He wasn't lying, Stefan—he had no reason to," Caroline says, jumping to the Original's defense. She doesn't really mean to. She's been keeping a level head throughout the conversation thus far, but calling Elijah's honesty into question irks her for some reason. "He didn't have to tell me any—"

"No, Stefan's right. We can't trust him, Caroline—it could mean Elena's and possibly your _death_," Damon interjects, sounding protective of both Elena _and_ her for a change. Caroline just looks at him strangely, trying to figure out if his being protective of her is permanent or just temporary until this crisis is over. "You can't trust him, Caroline."

"We have to trust him," Caroline insists. "He saved me Damon. I would have died last night if he hadn't exposed that secret. He didn't have to; he could have let me die. No one would have known he could have saved me but he did it. He kept his word to Elena and protected us. He saved me because of his deal with Elena and because—because…." Elijah's words run through her mind then (_…not a completely selfless act_), and she chokes on her words. She can't tell them that. They won't understand, and she wouldn't know how to explain it either for she's just as out of the loop.

"Because what?" Bonnie, whose been listening quietly up until this point, asks, giving her a strange look.

Caroline shakes her head. "Nothing," she says, deciding to keep that part of their encounter between Elijah and her. For this reason, she doesn't say anything about the blood connection she has to him either. It's another thing she can't fully explain for lack of knowledge herself, and she doesn't want to burden them with her problems.

The meeting breaks up shortly after that, Damon and Stefan having decided to just take things as they come while still doing more research into ways to kill an Original, because, as Alaric so kindly had pointed out, their first attempt was a complete exercise in futility.

Caroline leaves the talk of killing to the boys and just listens as they strategize. And when that's over, she excuses herself to go fill Tyler in on all that has gone on.

She almost makes it out the door before Damon rushes over to her and grabs her arm to hold her in place. "I know you're going to trust Elijah no matter what I say, you're stupidly stubborn like that, so I'm just going to say be careful with him," Damon warns her, his voice low as not to be overheard. "I know we don't talk about _us_ for a multitude of reasons, but even last night—even then, I could _feel_ the change in your blood. It's like—like I'm not as _vital_ to you as I used to be."

Caroline notices the fright in his eyes as he speaks the last sentence, and she realizes, maybe for the first time, how strong their connection is, even when they've never spoken of it before. If Caroline were still human, she'd of shivered at his speech. As it is, she simply hesitates for a moment before nodding. "I'll be careful," she promises before getting the hell out of there, running through the woods to the Lockwood property.

Putting Damon's warning safely in the back of her mind, Caroline knocks on the Lockwood's door. Tyler's mother answers the door and smiles at her.

Caroline can see the approval on the older woman's face and can't help but smile back. "Hi, Mrs. Lockwood," she says. "Is Tyler here?" There's really no need for her to ask the question, she can sense that he is in the house, but Carol Lockwood is human and, for the most part, clueless, and wouldn't understand that explanation.

"Yes, he's upstairs, go right up," Carol says, ushering her into the house.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood," Caroline calls as she races up the stairs, careful to take the stairs at a human run and not a vampire run.

She rushes to Tyler's room and catches him lying on his bed. He looks over to her when he hears the door open and she watches him smile at the expression on her face. "I could sense you from outside, you know?"

"Must be an ingrained sense of self-preservation," Caroline replies quickly, "because I could sense you too."

Tyler gets off the bed and hugs her. "I'm glad you're okay, Caroline," he says, his voice taking on an almost prayer-like quality. "I'm so sorry for everything—it's all my fault."

"No it's not, Tyler," she says, hugging him back tightly in order to reassure him. "None of this is your fault."

"But I believed them!" he says, pushing her away, his voice rising. "I believed everything they said even though I should have believed you instead. I couldn't save you and you almost—you could have died, Caroline!"

Caroline grabs his clenched fists and forces him to look at her, "But I didn't die. I'm right here, and I'm fine because you did believe me in the end. You were on the right side."

Tyler snorts, "Yeah, I switched sides, right before it was too late. And I offered—it could have been my blood that killed you."

"It doesn't matter, though, I'm okay—I was saved. Elijah—" Tyler growls possessively when Caroline says Elijah's name, and Caroline stares at him in shock. Before he can notice the pause, she continues, "Elijah's blood is special, Tyler. It heals vampires who drink werewolf blood."

"How do you know that?" Tyler asks. "_That guy_—he left right after what he did with you…he didn't explain anything."

Caroline cringes, having a feeling that her words are about to make him mad. For whatever reason, he seems to despise Elijah and what she's about to say is not going to assuage that feeling. "He was…he was in my house this morning when I woke up," she admits. She then watches his eyes widen and glow golden for a moment.

"He's a vampire!" Tyler exclaims. "They need to be invited in. How did he get in?"

Caroline wonders this too, and she has a theory, but doesn't share it with Tyler. Instead, she suggests, "Maybe it's because he's an Original. They seem to have more powers than normal vampires. Maybe he doesn't need permission to enter human houses." She sees the anger in his eyes and the way his fists are clenching again and knows she has to keep talking before he gets it in his head to do something stupid. "Anyway, we talked. He told me that his blood heals vampires from werewolf blood, that he's here protecting Elena so he can draw Klaus out of hiding and kill him, and that he and Elena made a deal."

"What's _Elena_ doing, making a deal with a vampire?" Tyler asks. "Doesn't she have enough problems?"

"She wanted to keep everyone safe and Elijah promised to do so—which is why he saved me—only if she does as he asks." Caroline moves them to the bed and they lie down facing each other and talk honestly for the first time since Jules had told him about what Caroline was keeping from him. They talk for hours, and Caroline fills him in on all the things she couldn't tell him when he wasn't allowed to know everything. Soon, she finds that it's dark out and she realizes she's hungry. She looks at Tyler and whispers, "Are you sure _you're_ okay, Tyler?"

"I'm fine," he says. "Why do you ask?"

"First you find out about Mason, and then the only other werewolves that could have helped you all end up—end up…."

"_Slaughtered_."

Caroline nods. "I know I haven't asked before, but, I wanted to make sure you're okay. That can't have been easy for you to watch."

Caroline sees the pained look in his eyes and she knows she's right. It did affect him more than he's shown so far, but she suspects he'll never admit to it. He feels too guilty as it is to have been involved in what they did to her, that he doesn't feel comfortable admitting to missing them. "If it came down to you or them—I'd of picked you," he deflects, not looking at her anymore. "I couldn't have trusted them after that anyway."

"That doesn't mean you don't wish they're still alive," she points out. "They could have helped you understand what it means to be a werewolf. They could have been there for you. They could have—" Tyler stops her words with the small shake of his head.

"No—not after what they did to you."

And it means everything to her that he puts her ahead of the people that, if things had turned out differently, could have been his family.

Caroline gets off the bed and says goodbye soon after that.

"You can stay a little longer," he tries to persuade her, still lounging on the bed.

Caroline just laughs. "It's after ten, Tyler. I don't want your mom to get the wrong idea about us." She notices the strange glint in his eyes when she says 'wrong idea' but she chooses not to press the matter. A part of her doesn't like the conclusion she's drawing in her mind and doesn't want to verify it.

"I can drive you home," he offers. "I'll even stay the night to make sure you're okay." At first, she almost smiles at the protectiveness, but then she sees the look on his face and she realizes it's not him being protective of her.

Elijah.

It's possessiveness, which isn't the same thing at all. "No," she tells him angrily. "I can handle myself, Tyler."

He gets off the bed and grabs her wrists, moving them across the room and pushing her into the wall. "I can feel it you know," he whispers, and she notices how similar he sounds to Damon with those words. "Something's changed between us since _that guy_ made you drink his blood. He's done something to you, Care, and I'm just trying to protect you—bring you back to who you were before—" he doesn't finish, instead choosing to kiss her.

Caroline kisses him back briefly, her mind stuck in memories of how it could have been between them. But although she still cares about him, although she doesn't _blame_ him for what happened, she hates the way he's blaming Elijah when it's not his fault at all. So she breaks the kiss and breathes heavily, "Before Brady tortured me?" she hisses, throwing him off of her. "Yeah, I've changed, Tyler, and is it really any wonder?" she says before storming out of the house.


	5. Chapter 5:  To Talk of Trust

**Chapter 5: To Talk of Trust**

From outside her house, Caroline hears her mother's steady breathing and knows she's asleep, but she also notices a light is on in her own room. She stands still for a moment, studying the space within the window, and sees the shadow of a person move about inside her room. She doesn't hear a heartbeat and, if she's being completely honest, she's not at all surprised that Elijah's come back.

She quietly opens the front door and makes her way to her room, mimicking the actions of her younger self sneaking in late and trying not to wake her mother. She remembers his warning about sneaking up on an Original, but does it anyway; and she's not at all surprised to find herself pressed up against her bedroom door once she surreptitiously closes it behind her.

"What have I told you about sneaking up on an Original?" he asks, and she feels his warm breath against her ear.

She doesn't even try to resist, but almost relaxes into the pose. "You never said I couldn't try," she points out defiantly. "You just said I'd never be able to."

Slowly, his grip on her loosens, but neither moves. His eyes hold hers, and they lock her in place, but she knows he's not compelling her—she knows what that feels like, and this isn't it. Whatever it is she feels for him, it is completely of her own accord. For reasons she cannot understand, she's drawn to him in a way that seems to defy logic. Aside from what Elena's told her of their encounters, she knows little of him, yet she feels as if she knows everything there is to know as she stares into his captivating eyes.

"No," he whispers after a moment, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly in strange amusement. "I suppose I didn't."

She moves from the door then, purposely brushing against his shoulder as she passes, and rummages through her dresser for pajamas. "Turn around," she says authoritatively.

Elijah raises an eyebrow and gives her a disbelieving look, but does as she asks. She changes fast, keeping an eye on him as she goes, and she's not surprised when he doesn't even try to peek. And, when she's done, she tells him he can turn back around.

She stands still, facing him, as he looks her up and down. She's wearing a royal blue silk nightgown that stops mid-thigh and shows just a bit of cleavage. She stays silent as she waits for the verdict she knows is coming, the anticipation has her breathing in deep gasps. Finally, he says, "I think I may like this outfit much better than the last."

She doesn't feel embarrassed exactly, but there's a sense of something _more_ in his gaze, and that makes her nervous. He's looking at her in a way that she doesn't know, and it frightens her to a degree, but intrigues her even more so.

She walks over to her vanity and brushes through her hair and takes off her jewelry—save her ring—and gets into bed, pulling the covers up around her. For the most part, she ignores Elijah's ever-present eyes as they follow her around during this process. She holds her pillow close to her chest as she looks over at him curiously. He's still standing near her door, just simply looking on silently, as if guarding her room from intruders. Caroline makes a decision and wordlessly she slides over on the bed in a silent invitation.

Neither speaks, but Elijah does move slowly to the bed, situating himself into a sitting position beside her, still wearing even his shoes.

Caroline can't help but wonder what her mother would think if she walked in at that exact moment. Caroline resists the urge to giggle at the image of her mother's reaction. For, even though Elijah's acting the part of the perfect gentleman, her state of dress would give way to suspicion. Not to mention the apparent age difference—although, now that she's thinking on it, the apparent age difference is only _seconds_ when compared to the real age difference—her mother would just _freak_ if she saw this.

"You shouldn't even be allowed in the house," Caroline says hesitantly. "No one let you in."

Elijah shrugs, unconcerned by the minor detail. "You're allowed in, right?" he asks, as if that deflection clears up the entire matter.

She nods, accepting his half-explanation for what it is: his way of acknowledging their connection. And, really, she had already guessed that much—that he and her were so deeply connected that the invitations granted to her apply to him as well, and she had wondered if it worked both ways.

Deciding to take those words as a sign, she takes a deep breath and plunges forward. She turns her head up to look at him and whispers, "Why'd you come back?"

Elijah shrugs, and right away, she knows he knows the answer to her question but will not directly answer it. "I wanted to," he eventually says.

"So it has nothing to do with this—how easy it is to just _be_ like this?" she asks, closing her eyes. He doesn't answer, and that says more than words. "So it's not just me," she muses, moving a little to get comfortable. She doesn't say anything for a while, her mind too busy trying to find out the 'why' without asking.

Since turning, she's felt something similar with Damon—a sense of _likeness_, of familiarity—but this is so much more. This is safety and strength, affection and acceptance, tenderness and trust, all with the promise of more to come. She wonders how she can feel such things when they're virtually strangers with hardly anything in common, aside from being of the same species. She wonders why he feels it too. With Damon, she knows it's because they're of the same blood, but she and Elijah aren't. She's _partly_ of his blood, as far as she knows, but that doesn't explain why he feels it too, unless….

Caroline opens her eyes in realization. "Does the connection go both ways?" she asks, not waiting for him to answer before continuing. "Damon said something's changed in my blood. He said he's not as vital to me anymore. Does that mean you are? Is that what this is? Is that what you meant when you talked about my blood infusing with yours? That I've basically got two separate makers?" Caroline doesn't mention Katherine—doesn't count her as a maker, even though she instigated her turning.

Elijah finally looks down at her. At first, that's all he does, but then his hand reaches over to her and tangles itself in her hair. "You could say that," he finally answers. "I've sired vampires before, dear Caroline; I've even healed some from werewolf blood. But _never_ has it felt like this. Yes, the connection goes both ways, although I suspect it's stronger for you than it is for me. What this means, I cannot tell you, for I haven't a clue. That is partially why I am here, just to see what this is—what it could be."

"What is it like, what is it normally like—to cure a vampire from werewolf blood? What's different about us?" Caroline wonders, pushing herself up in order to lean on her elbow. She's curious now, knowing that she's not the only one to think this is different.

"There's a connection, much like that of vampire feeding on a human. There's a sense of loyalty on the cured party's side; and I've been known to feel somewhat…in a position of power over them. It usually ends there, though. I've never before taken the place of their original sire. I've never felt _drawn_ to them like I am to you. I've never…." He doesn't continue and she doesn't expect him to.

Caroline shivers only slightly as she recalls the way Damon used to treat her once upon a time. She was human then and, at the time, Damon didn't have the decency to _not_ put himself in a position of power over her, but the memories sting from time to time, and now she fears she may be forced into much the same situation. "Do you feel in a position of power over me?" she inquires bravely, afraid of the answer.

He's quiet for a moment as he appears to consider his answer. Finally, he shrugs. "Somewhat," he answers, "but you're so _modern_. You've had the idea of free choice ingrained into your society since before you were born. I can't make you subservient if you don't want to be so. I think that's part of what draws me to you, really. You're not afraid of me."

"Should I be?" she asks. Her mind can't help but see the parallels between this kind of talk and the way she and Damon used to talk after sex when she was human.

Caroline wants so desperately for this to be different. She doesn't want to wake up one morning and find that he was just using her—another pawn in another game. She doesn't want to realize one day that he compelled her to feel things for him. She doesn't want to look at him and be torn between loving him and hating him, settling for tacit acceptance as a result. She doesn't want to have to hate him.

"I've been on this earth a long time," he says. "I've done many things that you should be afraid of, Caroline."

She nods; another similarity between him and Damon. Damon was honest with her too—even if she was compelled not to care, she did know what he was and what he was capable of. And she doesn't mean to say it out loud, but the words come out before she can stop them. "I trust you."

Elijah tenses at her words, and she opens her mouth to take them back, but realizes they're not exactly the type of words one could recall, even if they wanted to. So, instead, she stares at Elijah as he seems to fight with himself over his response to her declaration. "You should never really trust anyone, Caroline," he advises when he finally regains composure. "Most people have an agenda, and those who don't simply do not care about you one way or the other."

Caroline just blinks up at him, outwardly showing no reaction, although she makes a mental note to herself as she responds. "And you?"

"I do have an agenda—I want Klaus dead," he admits casually, like they're talking about the weather. Although, maybe to him, talking of death is like talking about weather; he's probably experienced just as much of it.

"So…can I trust you?" she asks, unsure what that side note means in regards to the original question.

"In that I want Klaus dead, yes. In anything else, not really."

"Can I trust you with _me_?"

She hates herself for asking, because she knows he's going to answer in the negative and she doesn't know what she's going to do when he does. She can't stop this thing, whatever it is, but she doesn't want it to continue if she knows he'll just end up hurting her like everyone else. And she so desperately doesn't want him to be like everyone else.

After a while, when he doesn't speak, she assumes he's not going to, so she adjusts herself again, curling herself around him and moving her head to lay in his lap. She closes her eyes and is lulled into sleep by the feel of Elijah's hand gently playing with her hair. She hasn't fully drifted off when she hears him speak his answer.

"Right now," she hears his soft whisper, "I really don't think I have it in me to harm you, Caroline; and that right there goes against everything I have learned since becoming a vampire. As to what that means for you, I just don't know."


	6. Chapter 6:  Honest Conversations

**Chapter 6: Honest Conversations**

Elijah isn't next to Caroline when she wakes up the next morning. Caroline examines her bedroom for any sign of the Original's presence the night before and finds nothing. She knows it happened, knows she fell asleep curled up around him, knows he spoke honestly to her; but there is no proof, and a part of her is deeply bothered by that.

Even still, she doesn't reach for her cell phone, doesn't call Elena or Bonnie or Stefan. She can not tell them about this when she hardly knows what it is herself. She realizes, though, that she has to talk to _someone_, and she knows of only one person who may understand, so she gets dressed and grabs her car keys and heads over to the Salvatore boarding house.

If Damon's surprised when she invites herself in, he doesn't show it. "Hungry, Barbie?" he asks, holding a glass of blood out to her.

When she reaches for it, he moves it from her reach and says, "You know where the freezer is."

Caroline rolls her eyes and mutters quietly about him being an unmitigated ass before seating herself on a couch, sighing in frustration as she does so.

Damon just smirks as he positions himself on the other end.

"He was in my room last night—after I got back from Tyler's."

Damon nods. "I know," he says.

"How do you know?" she asks, not bothering to hide her shock.

Damon sighs. "Sometimes I forget how young you are, Barbie," he says, pausing for dramatic effect. "Each vampire has a scent. If you get physically close to one, it'll rub off on you temporarily; and right now, Elijah's scent is coming off you in waves."

Caroline resists the urge to smile at this bit of news. She has proof now, and that, for reasons she doesn't know, makes her happy. "Nothing happened," she says when she catches Damon's salacious grin. "I'm serious. He was there, and I got ready for bed. Yes, he sat next to me; and yes, I fell asleep next to him, but all we did was talk."

"What did you talk about?" Damon asks, with a mock interested expression. "Must've been interesting."

"I asked him why it feels different…between us," she says. "We talked about blood and connections between vampires."

Damon seems to understand without any other words. "You drank his blood," he replies, understanding dawning, "it changed you. He—he stole you from me." He sounds almost shocked by this, like it's not possible.

She doesn't look at him as she nods. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he tells her. "You're not completely his and…I wanted you to. I couldn't lose you then and now…this is better than that."

"He said…he said we can trust that he wants Klaus dead, but he implied that we can't trust anything else," she blurts out. "And I remember him saying he doesn't think he can hurt me."

"It's just—I feel so drawn to him; from the second I saw him, I felt something between us. Like soul mates, but that's just ridiculous because there's no such thing. When he's near me, though, I almost believe it because it's so _easy_ with him—like it's supposed to be this way.

"I just—I just don't understand, Damon. How can I feel this strongly for someone I know nothing of?"

Caroline's hysterical now, pacing back and forth in front of the couch she doesn't even remember getting off of. "What am I supposed to do, Damon? I know he's dangerous—maybe not to me, but to you and Stefan and Elena and Bonnie and Tyler; he could kill you all—I can _sense_ that. And I know I could never resist him; if he asks anything of me, I'll give it to him without a second thought. I'd _have_ to, that's how strong the connection is."

She pauses to take a deep breath, and Damon uses this opportunity to ask a question. "Does it go both ways?"

Caroline stops pacing and stares at him. "Does what go both ways?"

"The connection. Does he feel all the things you're feeling?"

She thinks back. "I—I think so. He said it's probably stronger for me than it is him. He said he'd given vampires his blood before but that it never felt like this. He said it was _us_."

"Well…you could just…ask him to not hurt people, and he wouldn't, right? Assuming, of course, that he feels the same need to do as the other wishes."

Caroline shakes her head. "No—I mean yes—but I'd never do that."

"Why not?" Damon asks. The _he'd do it to you_ is implied.

Because I'd never manipulate anyone like that, Damon!" she exclaims angrily. "I remember what that was like, and I'd _never_ do that to someone else."

Damon is silent for a moment and he doesn't look at her. He'll never admit to regretting what he did to her when she was human, but she knows he does regret it. "So, _basically_ you're saying there's a really old vampire who holds some kind of power over you, and vise versa, who just may be here to kill people, and you won't help?"

"You're not seeing the bigger picture, Damon!" she yells in frustration, clenching her fists in her hair for a moment before letting go and smoothing it back again.

"Enlighten me, then," he encourages her with an eye roll.

"We're going to be around _forever_, or at least until one of us is staked—and he can't even be that—so I'm _not_ going to start out our forever with him hating me for manipulating him."

Damon laughs then, and she realizes she's using him as an example of what not to do, and his laughter irritates her. Deciding to shut him up, she steals his glass of blood and drinks it all before he can protest. She then hands it back primly, a small smirk on her face.

He glares at her and lets out a groan of frustration. "So what are you going to do? Blissfully ignore the problem and hope he doesn't _kill_ anyone?"

"I don't know, Damon!" she screams at him. "This isn't exactly something I know a lot about, you know. I mean, for all we know, it could just be temporary." It's wishful thinking, and even Caroline knows it. "So I'll talk to him, maybe he'll tell me what he's planning and we can deal with it."

Damon rolls his eyes. "And maybe he'll kill you," he throws at her. "You're naïve if you believe he'll just come clean. He's thousands of years old, Caroline. If he's learned anything during that time, he's learned how to _lie_ to _little girls_."

Caroline resents that comment. "This is getting us nowhere," she says, "I shouldn't have even bothered." She walks to the door. "Thanks for the drink but I'm going to go."

She goes back home then, slamming the front door and heading up to her room. She paces the floor, trying to think of a solution to her newest supernatural problem when, all of a sudden, she hears knocking of the front door.

She runs downstairs and throws open the door. "I'm not talking about this with you, Damon," she says without looking at the person. "I will not manipulate Elijah like that."

"You shouldn't even be near enough to _him_ to be able to manipulate him," she hears Tyler reply, his anger rising with each word.

Caroline's eyes widen; she didn't expect to see Tyler already. "What _is it_ about Elijah that sets you off like this?" she exclaims in frustration, subconsciously moving to the side to let him in.

Tyler shuts the door behind him, using a little more force than necessary. Caroline's glad her mother's not home to hear any of this.

Tyler takes a step toward her but she backs away. "I like you, Caroline," he says through partially gritted teeth. "And I can feel you slipping away even just by saying his name. It's wrong, whatever it is he's doing to you, and I don't want him to destroy you."

"I like you too, Tyler," Caroline admits, "but Elijah isn't going anywhere. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I'll probably be getting a lot closer to him. I _like_ him, Tyler. And I don't want to give up our friendship, but I will if you keep treating me like a possession you can control instead of a friend you care about.

"Not to mention what you tried to do to me last night. I didn't ask for that and I don't want us to be like that. You're my friend, but we'll never be anything more. And I'm sorry if I led you to believe otherwise, but I don't think I'm being given a choice, Tyler. The things I feel for Elijah….

"I know the things I'm feeling aren't dangerous. They may be _intense_, but I know they're not _dangerous_."

"He _killed_ all the werewolves in _seconds_, Care. He could kill you _just_ as easily," Tyler argues.

"I know he _could_, Tyler—I'm not stupid. All I'm saying is that he won't."

"What's to stop him?" Tyler asks. "What could possibly stop him if he got it in his head to kill you?"

"That's the thing; I don't even think he _can_ think it."

Tyler freezes at that. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly as I said," Caroline answers. When he still seems confused, she elaborates, "Just the thought of losing Damon has always put me near physical illness, and vampires don't even _get_ ill. I could hate him until I die, but I could never _wish_ him dead. Fighting that instinct is incredibly hard; and after Elijah saved me the other night, that's what he would have to do in order to kill me."

"But he could—overcome that instinct, that is—it could be done?"

Caroline nods somberly. "Damon and Stefan wanted to kill Katherine. They never did, but they wanted to."

"And what makes you think he won't overcome that instinct and plot to kill you? You're a weakness of his now, that's dangerous also. If Damon and Stefan could do it, Elijah definitely can."

Caroline sighs and leans against the wall, using it as a backrest as she slides down to the floor. Tyler follows her lead, sitting down beside her. "It's complicated," she says after a while. "The bond between Elijah and I, well, it's stronger than that of typical vampires; we don't really know why. All I know is that I feel like I would die if he did, and it scares me because I don't know him. All I know is that I need him, which is ridiculous because I was perfectly fine before I met him."

Suddenly Tyler's face falls. "So it's not something I can change?"

She nods. "I'm sorry."

Neither speaks for a moment, both content to just _be _there with each other, and then Tyler speaks. "I'm not just going to go away you know. I may not be able to make you…like me in the way I want, but I can still be your friend, right?"

Caroline smiles at him sadly. "For now, yes. Eventually I'll have to leave, though."

Tyler doesn't say anything but does nod in understanding. That was something they talked about long before Jules and the werewolves came.

"That night, after you drank the werewolf's blood, and…Elijah came, I saw it. There was this moment, it was very brief, but there was this moment between you two when everything just seemed to stop. I think a part of me knew then, that whatever we could have been _before_, we could never have been _after_."

"I'm sorry," she repeats, tears in her eyes.

Before that night, she had honestly wondered what could have been between them, but then everything changed. It isn't even completely Elijah's fault either, Caroline muses; because even though Tyler had protected her in the end, he hadn't from the beginning. And as much as she pretends otherwise, it hurts that he hadn't just trusted her as a friend was supposed to.

"I know," Tyler whispers, turning away from her, but not before she sees the hurt look in his eyes. "I'm sorry too."

A part of her feels guilty for being partly at fault for giving up on what they could have been, but he was right when he talked about that moment with Elijah. There were a few seconds when her eyes met his and even before he spoke, she _knew_ he would save her.

"I'm scared, Tyler," she mumbles, resting her head on his shoulder.

Tyler wraps his arm around her and rests his chin on her head. "I know," he whispers, "I am too, but I'll be here until the end."

And she knows it's a lie—for all that he's werewolf, he's still human too—but even a lie makes her feel better than nothing at all, so she holds tightly to his words and lets him hold her until his mother calls and asks him to come home in the early morning.


	7. Chapter 7: A Change In Perception

**Author's Note**: So, so sorry this took so long. I had finals at school back in late May and early June, and then summer came, and in between work, and life, I had no drive to finish this story. Now that I'm at school, however, I'm ready to pick this back up.

**Chapter 7: A Change in Perception**

Life goes by in a parody of normality. Supernatural is set aside in favor of schoolwork, and life continues on as if Caroline and everyone in Mystic Falls were normal, non-supernatural human beings, but Caroline cannot help but feel like it's the calm before the inevitable storm.

She spends most of her free time with Tyler during the week after they made up because the full moon is on Friday, and they've been preparing. They talked about methods to keep him from her once he turns but so she can be there for him still, and bought more reinforced chains and bolts.

"Have you talked to _him_ recently?" Tyler asks as they're walking through the woods to the Lockwood slave quarters on Friday. There's no real question of whom he's talking about. It is the exact subject she tries to avoid with him because of that tone he uses.

Caroline's eyes fall to the floor. "Not since last week," she says. "No one has heard from him." She doesn't tell him how much this is worrying her, but he doesn't seem to need her to. He picks that up on his own.

"Do you think he's planning something?" Tyler asks as he moves tree branches out of their way.

"I don't know," she sighs. "Damon says he is, but I don't want to believe it. At the same time, I know he chooses his words carefully. He's honest, but only in an extremely literal sense. You can only trust in the exact words that come out of his mouth, everything else is conjecture, which he uses to his advantage.

"I know he's not one of the good guys like you or Stefan. And he's not one of the reforming kind like Damon. He's been alive too long to be either, I think."

They reach the slave quarters and Caroline starts unpacking the chains and handing them to Tyler who starts attaching them to the bolts in the walls. While he's finishing that, she puts the wolfsbane in the bottle of water he brought and shakes, mixing him his own little bottle of poison.

"Are you sure about this, Tyler?" she asks in regard to the bottle.

She sees the fear in his eyes even as he nods. "Mason could do it."

Caroline opens her mouth to tell him he doesn't have to be strong right now, that he does not have to be like Mason, but she's quick to realize that her words would be false.

_She_ needs him to be strong right now. She needs him to keep her sane. And if that means letting him hurt himself to prove he's strong enough to handle this, than she'll have to let him do it, even though it kills her. So she nods, sets the bottle against a wall and moves away from it. It may not be at all dangerous to her, but she associates the mixture with the vervain mixture Brady had shot her with and the idea of it almost makes her nauseous.

Caroline's phone rings then, and she answers when she sees that it's Elena calling. "What are you doing?" Elena asks even before Caroline can say _hello_.

"Helping Tyler," Caroline answers casually, "it's the full moon tonight."

"Can you come over for a little while?" Elena asks. "There's something you need to know—something I should have told you sooner."

Caroline only then takes notice of the worry in Elena's voice and agrees immediately. "Yes, I'll be right over." She hangs up and looks at Tyler. "Elena needs me," she says in explanation, her tone slightly apologetic. She doesn't want to leave him on this day.

Surprising her, Tyler nods in complete understanding. "You go, I'll finish up here."

"Four hours, right?" she asks, remembering their meeting time.

"Four hours," he agrees. "Now go," he says with mock authority as he pushes her up the stairs. Caroline laughs as she runs through the woods toward the Gilbert house.

When she arrives, Elena is pacing the front porch.

"What's wrong, Elena?" Caroline asks as she looks around. She notices that no one is around—well, Jenna's upstairs, but considering all that they're up against, Jenna's not all that useful at protecting Elena. "And where is Stefan…or Damon, for that matter?"

"I made then leave," Elena informs her. "I wanted to speak to you alone."

Caroline sits on the steps, motioning for Elena to sit next to her. "Stop wearing out the floor," she tells her friend.

Elena lets out a frustrated sigh, but does as asked, sitting next to Caroline. "I should have told you right away, but I didn't think you'd—but Damon said you slept with him last week, and I have to tell you—" Elena says hurriedly before Caroline interrupts her.

"I did _not_ sleep with Damon last week!" she exclaims, almost disgusted by the very idea.

Elena's eyes widen, and Caroline could swear she sees a flicker of jealousy in them. "No, that's not what I meant. Damon said—he told me you were with Elijah."

Caroline's first thought is that she really needs to go yell at Damon for basically telling her best friend that she's easy, her next, the most important thought, is spoken aloud. "What do you need to tell me about Elijah?" she asks, worry seeping into her voice.

"I should have told you at the meeting you called, but I didn't want Stefan to know what I did, and you didn't say anything about getting so close to him, so I thought I could just keep it to myself."

"What?" Caroline repeats anxiously. "What do you need to tell me about Elijah?"

Elena pauses and Caroline notices the trembling of her hands. "You know about the deal we struck? How, if I stop trying to sacrifice myself, he'll protect my friends?" Caroline nods after a moment, and Elena continues. "I—the deal—it spoke nothing of my fate. He said he would protect my loved ones, but said nothing of me and I…I accepted."

Caroline's quiet for a moment as she takes this in. "He's going to kill you," she says as she realizes something. "That's what he meant when he said I could only trust that he wanted Klaus dead."

Elena nods. "It came down to me or everyone else, and it wasn't even a choice. I don't want Stefan and Damon to know, but I thought you deserved to hear the truth before too much happened. I didn't want you to find out _after_."

A part of Caroline wants to say she hardly knows Elijah, that she only slept _next_ to him, and that hardly anything_ has_ happened between them, but that part of her is ignored by the larger part that feels completely betrayed by the Original.

"Okay," she says, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I'm glad I know." She stands and descends the few steps before tuning back to her friend. "I think you need to tell Stefan and Damon, though. They deserve to know that you've signed you're death warrant. They deserve to get the chance to change your mind." She starts walking away.

"Caroline," Elena calls after her, a hint of desperation in her voice, but it's nothing like what Caroline's feeling right now.

Caroline keeps walking, but turns around briefly. "I need to meet Tyler soon," she says. "I'll talk to you later."

She sees Elena nod, but knows the brunette well enough to know she has things she wants to say now. But Caroline can't do this now, she's too angry and she doesn't want to take it out on Elena. And she has to get back to Tyler in a few hours.

But before she can get back to Tyler, she needs to vent to someone, so once again, she heads to the boarding house to confront Damon. She realizes that she can't say everything she wishes because Elena gets the honor of revealing her deception, but she can yell at him at the very least.

Again, she lets herself in, slamming the door behind her. "How dare you tell Elena I slept with Elijah, Damon Salvatore!" she yells through the seemingly empty house.

Of course, Caroline knows he's around. She hears his groan and follows the sound to Damon's bedroom, where she finds him on the bed with a pillow over his head.

"Since we both know that has absolutely no effect on your hearing, you may as well just show your deceiving face," she demands from the doorway.

When he doesn't do as she asks, she grabs a book from the shelf next to her and chucks it at his stomach. One good thing about being a vampire is that her aim has improved a hell of a lot, and she hits her target. Hard.

"Hey!" he exclaims, sitting up.

When the pillow is out of the way, she throws another book…this time at his face.

He catches that one, and gives her an exasperated look. "There is absolutely _no_ need to throw books, Blondie. I paid good money for those first editions, you know."

"I'm mad at you, Damon," Caroline informs him seriously. "Throwing things helps."

"So go to the kitchen and throw glasses and plates and shit," he says. "Or better yet, I can point you to Stefan's room and you can trash the place. Just leave my books alone."

She glares at him, hardly taking notice of his half-dressed state. "You shouldn't have told Elena that. You had no right."

"I didn't know you told that to me in confidence," he defends himself. At least he doesn't patronize her by pretending not to understand her meaning.

"You could have at least made sure to point out that we didn't actually _do_ anything. Now Elena thinks I'm some sort of slut for sleeping with a guy I barely know that I've only seen twice. Hell, _I'd_ think I was a slut if that was the case," she rants.

He doesn't apologize and she doesn't actually expect him to. "Aren't you overreacting _just a little_?" he asks instead, using hand gestures to bring his point home.

Caroline pauses for only a moment before exploding. "_No_! I am _not_ overreacting."

Damon rolls his eyes and Caroline reaches for another book. She doesn't pick it up though. She walks over to the bed and sits on the edge and sighs. Damon just lies back down and eyes her carefully.

"I'm angry," she tells him for lack of anything better to say.

"At me, I know," he says almost bemusedly, and Caroline can practically _feel_ him rolling his eyes. She's been spending _way_ too much time with him lately.

Caroline shakes her head. "Not anymore. Not really."

"What has you so angry then?" he asks curiously. She doesn't answer at first. She has to be careful with her words. He seems to assume she's not going to answer, for he closes his eyes.

"You were right…about Elijah. Not where it pertains to me—he did save me, and I trust him as far as that goes. But his intentions regarding everything else? Well, they're not exactly _good_, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that. I mean, do I ignore what I know and lose myself in him? Do I push him away to avoid getting hurt and lose him that way? Or do I tell him I know and try to change his mind?"

"Wait…how do you actually _know_ his intentions?" he asks. "Who told you his plan?"

"I just know," she says defensively, reflexively protecting Elena. "It doesn't matter how."

Damon seems to let the issue go. "Well, you know my stance on this, then," he says causally. She hates how easy it is for him to jump straight on the 'bad guy' wagon.

Yet Caroline nods in spite of herself. "And I'd agree with you if it was anyone else," she admits. "I don't want to lose him, though, and manipulating him would insure that. Shutting him out would guarantee it, and ignoring it solves nothing." She adjusts herself on the bed so she's facing him completely. "There's no good solution here."

Damon shrugs. "From what little I know, maybe solving nothing is your best option," he advises, his eyes closed in what Caroline presumes to be boredom.

Caroline groans. If only he knew that ignoring Elijah's plan will mean Elena's death…he would not have told her that. "But what if that's not an option?" she asks.

He opens one eye. "Well, then you have no choice but to confront him then, do you? You don't have to manipulate him though, you know."

Caroline nods slowly, a plan forming in her mind, her decision made.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have a catnap to get back to."

She rolls her eyes and jumps off the bed. She grabs one of his precious books on her way out and chucks it at him.

"Fucking baby vampires," she hears him grumble angrily in his room as she reaches the front door. "So insolent."


	8. Chapter 8:  Cutting Ties

**Chapter 8: Cutting Ties**

After leaving the boarding house, Caroline runs through the woods back to her house. She has to yet to make excuses to her mother, and she wants to change clothes before spending hours in the cold Lockwood cellar with Tyler. And she has to talk with Bonnie and explain her idea to keep her in the room with Tyler.

She is stopped, however, when she runs into Elijah. Literally. To make matters worse, she almost falls backward but he catches her and holds her close to him to steady her. "Dear Caroline," he says with a small almost-smirk, his voice soft and alluring. "If you wanted to get close to me, you only needed to ask."

Half of her wants to cry because she _does_ want to be close to him, and that's the worst part of it. Luckily, the other half, the strongest half, pushes him away with all her strength. She manages to get away, but she is all too aware that, had he not let her go of his own volition, all her strength wouldn't have made any difference. For that reason, she's thankful for his consideration and old-world sensibilities when it comes to her.

"What has you so upset?" he asks, confusion showing in his eyes for only a moment.

"I know," Caroline says, her tone even, controlled. She's reigning in her anger because if she allows it to come forth there's a good possibility all the hurt will follow.

Elijah cocks his head, amusement dancing faintly in his eyes. "And what is it you think you know, dear?" he says and Caroline hates the slightly mocking voice he's using.

"I know about your deal with Elena," she tells him, crossing her arms over her chest in part as a protective gesture and in part to show her displeasure.

"Old news," Elijah says with a wave of his hand. "I explained that to you."

"I know that you don't intend for Elena to make it out of the fight with Klaus. I know that you only said you'd protect her friends but not Elena herself." Caroline doesn't even bother to hide her anger anymore. He _should_ know that she's upset with him. He shouldn't, however, know that she's hurt by his choices, so she takes a deep breath and pushes her feelings of betrayal to the back of her mind.

He doesn't seem fazed. "The only time Klaus will be weakened is after the sacrifice."

Tears fall down her face as Caroline remembers all the times she defended Elijah to her friends. How could she have thought for even a second that he was worth saving? How is it that, even now, she feels _safe_ around him? Why is it that, despite his betrayal, she still does not want to lose him?

"Do you _honestly_ not see why this is upsetting me?" she cries as she resists the urge to stomp her feet childishly. "Do you _honestly_ not see why…?"

She chokes on her words and turns away from him. Human responses return and she's struggling to breathe. And when she feels his hand on her shoulder, she cries harder.

"There isn't another—"

She turns her back around and cuts him off, his hand falling from her shoulder. "Don't you _dare_ tell me you don't have another choice! That one's just easiest. It kills two birds with one stone, too; Klaus dies and the curse is broken by a vampire so we can all walk in the sun. It's convenient and I see the allure, but there's Elena and—" she takes a deep breath "—and no matter how much I complain about everything _always_ being about Elena, I love her and I can't just sit by and let her _die_ like that."

Elijah reaches out tentatively and wipes away her tears. He looks at his hands curiously afterward, like he's never seen someone cry before and is amazed at the byproduct. "I know it's not going to be easy for you, but—"

She cuts him off again. "Not easy? Not _easy_? No, it's not going to be easy, it's going to be excruciating for me, Elijah!

"Elena's the girl who stood up for me in first grade when May Peterson kept pulling my hair. She was the girl who switched pants with me in sixth when I noticed the hole in mine and wanted to go home sick rather than face the laughter of my classmates. She's the girl who ate a pint of ice cream with me and watched The Notebook three times in a row after Jim Cramer stood me up on my first date in eighth, the girl who always listened to me bitch about how my mother never paid any attention to me, the girl who spent a week at my house after I found out my father left me and my mother for another man, the girl who comforted me when I found out my mother _hates_ what I've become. Elena's my best friend, Elijah, and I can't do this—I can't _be_ with someone who's willing to _sacrifice_ her."

She tries to walk away then, but he grabs her wrist and pulls her back. "Caroline," he protests, his voice half-pleading and half-demanding. She meets his eyes then, and while he looks fully composed, she sees what comes very close to panic hidden in those depths. _Good_, she thinks, _this'll be as hard for him as it is for me_.

She shakes her head at him. "No," she whispers. "You've signed Elena's death warrant and I can't be around you because of that."

She pulls her arm from his grasp and he lets her leave this time. She runs faster than she ever had before to get home. While a part of her wants to stay and talk and work things out with him, she knows she has no power to change his mind and she refuses to pretend otherwise. It breaks something inside of her to lose him so soon after finding him, but she can't just pretend he's not going to kill her best friend.

When she arrives home, she notices that her mother is not around, so as she slams the door behind her she doesn't feel self-conscious when she falls to the floor and cries until Bonnie calls.

She's not sure if it's her friend's witchy powers or if it's just that obvious, but the first thing she asks is, "Have you been crying, Caroline?"

Caroline, forgetting that she's on the phone shakes her head as she wipes away tears. "No," she lies. "Why would you think that?"

"You sound absolutely miserable, Care. Do you want me to come by your house before we meet Tyler?" she asks. "We can talk."

Caroline's eyes widen. "No," she insists. "I'm fine, Bonnie."

It's not that she doesn't _want_ to talk to Bonnie about everything. She does, actually, but Bonnie would never understand. Bonnie hates all vampires, even her sometimes, and she'd never be able to get why Caroline's so conflicted by Elijah's betrayal. Bonnie would tell her she did the right thing by standing up for herself but, while she also believes this, she doesn't want it to just be _over_. It feels like a part of her is missing, and it's tearing her up inside.

"If you're sure…" Bonnie says, sounding unconvinced.

"Just meet me at the Lockwood cellar; we've got a lot to do."

"Are we going to need the grimoire?" she asks.

"Probably…and bring whatever else you need to do powerful magic," Caroline says, the neurotic, control-freak part of her personality coming to the forefront.

Bonnie sighs. "I don't know how you managed to talk me into this."

Caroline stands up and makes her way to her room, stronger now that she has something not-Elijah to focus on. "He needs me, Bonnie," she tells her friend seriously. "You were not there last time; you didn't see how much pain he was in."

"But why is it up to you to help him? You know it's dangerous, Care."

Caroline opens her closet, pulls out a school sweatshirt from freshman year, grabs some old jeans, and proceeds to change. "Who else _can_ help him?" she asks, her phone pressed carefully between her ear and shoulder as she pulls off her jeans and puts on the old ones. "Even if there _were_ another werewolf around, it would just turn with him, and the only humans in Mystic Falls that know of werewolves are people we can't risk getting hurt accidentally if something went wrong. And no one else really _wants_ to help. Not to mention," she adds, "I doubt Tyler will accept help from anybody else."

"I…I think I get it," Bonnie says after a pause. "You have to be to him what Stefan was to you when you first turned."

Caroline nods, forgetting for a moment that Bonnie can't see her through the phone. "Exactly that. I mean, I don't have a clue what it's like to be a werewolf, but I know what it is like to be not completely human and I can at least support him in that."

Bonnie's quit for a moment and Caroline uses the time to fix her makeup. "Like Grams tried to support me," Bonnie whispers in the silence.

Caroline puts down her eyeliner. "If you don't want to help right now, I can do this regardless," she offers quietly.

"No, I'll do it," Bonnie insists with conviction and determination evident in her voice. "I'll meet you at the edge of the Lockwood property in…half an hour?"

Caroline looks at her alarm clock. Has it really been that long since she got home? How much time did she spend crying by the front door? "Yeah," she says distractedly, "I'll meet you then."

"Bye, Caroline."

"Bye." Caroline presses _end _and sets her phone on her nightstand next to her bed.

She stares at the bed, remembering her conversation with Elijah there. It'll never happen again, she realizes suddenly, the realization physically causing her pain.

She _hates_ that she's become so dependent on his presence when they know nothing about each other. She _hates_ that she cares that she and Stefan and Damon and Bonnie are going to have to try to kill him now—because he can't live if he's a threat to Elena. She _hates _that she still wants to love him, even knowing what he's done and what he wants to do.

She fights the urge to cry as she goes back downstairs and writes a note to her mother. She tells her she's hanging out with Bonnie and that she'll probably be home late. She puts it on the kitchen table and tries hard not to think of Elijah then too.


	9. Chapter 9: To Help a Friend

**Author's Note: Sorry about the ridiculously long wait. At some point, I lost inspiration to continue this story, and with the absolute lack of interaction between Elijah and Caroline (except that the may have gone on a walk in the forest together) I couldn't find it in me to continue this. I am hoping to write some new chapters soon (I even have the story somewhat planned out). More will come in a few weeks when college finals are complete, seeing as I have 3 papers due which take priority.  
**

**Also: Thanks to nfinneman, JamieAnnieCarter, little miss michelle, manuact14, and (100th reviewer) wolfchick55 whose reviews in the past few months have kept this story in the front of my mind, eventually sparking enough inspiration to crank out another chapter.**

**Chapter 9: To Help a Friend**

Caroline explains her idea to Bonnie as she guides her friend to the cellar. Once there, Bonnie examines the area carefully, deciding if the idea is viable. She hasn't taken notice of Tyler, who is currently working with the chains. When she looks up, she seems to forget what she was going to say as she looks at exactly what Caroline is dealing with.

Finally, Bonnie finds her voice. "I think Emily has a spell that'll work for this." She looks to Caroline and explains, "It's a slightly modified version of the spell I used to keep Elena in her house during her suicidal phase, only I'll condition it to the two of you and bar everyone else completely."

Caroline almost objects at that—it'll look really strange to a wandering human when they run into an invisible wall—but she understands Bonnie's decision. After all, no one wants to get stuck in a room with a changing werewolf. "Do it," she says, despite the look of confusion Tyler's giving her.

So, while Bonnie sets up her candles and looks up the spell in the grimoire, Caroline explains the spell to Tyler. "Bonnie's going to spell the gate to allow me to get in and out of my own free will. It will keep you in unless I allow you through—don't look at me like that; it's magic, I don't know how it works—and it will prevent anyone else from getting in. At least, that's what I think."

They both turn to Bonnie, who nods as the candles on her side of the gate light up. Caroline smiles at the awe written all over Tyler's face.

She elbows him. "We don't have a lot of time," she reminds him, and they begin working with the chains, figuring out where they're going to put them on his body, as they listen to the sound of Bonnie's whispered chanting.

"You know you don't have to do this," he says, giving her an out as he passes one of the metal chains to her.

She takes it with ease. "And you know I'm not going to let you do this alone," she retorts.

In that second, they share a look of complete understanding, and all the baggage, all the misunderstandings and disappointments…everything is irrelevant because only they understand the full horror of what is to come when the full moon rises.

"You have to promise me you'll get to the other side of the gate before I change," he demands, his voice shaking. "We're not risking your life here, Caroline."

Caroline nods. "I promise," she whispers, holding back tears. She knows it'll be hard to leave him in as much pain as she knows he's going to be in, but he's right. It _is_ too dangerous for her to be with him after a certain point. She came too close last time.

Bonnie's chanting stops then and they both turn to her in surprise. "Try it out," she prompts them, waving her hand in a 'get on with it' gesture.

Caroline goes first and has no problem opening the gate and walking over to stand next to Bonnie. Tyler carefully drops the chain in his hand and walks over to the gate, stopping suddenly when he gets three feet from it. "I can't go any further," he says, putting his hands up to the invisible barrier.

Bonnie turns to Caroline. "You need to mentally give him permission," she instructs.

The blonde nods and after a minuet of concentration says, "Try it now, Tyler," and watches as he opens the gate and moves to stand next to Caroline.

"And for a final test," Bonnie begins as _she_ tries to get past the gate, "if I can't get past, then the spell was completed successfully."

When Bonnie reaches the barrier on her side, she smiles. "It is complete," she says, and Tyler and Caroline watch as she slowly lowers her hands, putting the candles out with her mind. "How long do you have until…?" she asks Tyler, not able to actually say the words. Caroline suspects that the part of her friend that can't completely accept vampires, even her, can't accept werewolves like Tyler either.

"It's not exactly predictable," Tyler says, "But I figure it'll get bad in an hour to an hour and a half."

Caroline doesn't miss the fear in his eyes and takes his hand in response, squeezing tightly. She feels him relax after a moment and she gives him a reassuring smile.

"So it's about time I leave, isn't it?" Bonnie asks, breaking up the moment.

"Yes, it is," says a new, angry voice. "And you, Caroline, should be going with her."

The three of them watch in confusion as Damon walks down the stairs at a human pace and grabs for Caroline. She tries to pull away from him, but he's stronger and all the struggle seems to accomplish is getting Tyler upset, which she notices when she hears him growl low in his throat. It's much like the sound he used to make when she'd mention Elijah, only in this case, she can detect that he feels threatened.

"Go behind the gate, Tyler," she whispers, squeezing his hand once more. She looks quickly toward Bonnie, who gives her a nod of approval. Bonnie then glares at Damon before guiding Tyler to the gate, having decided Tyler's the bigger threat at the moment.

Caroline glances briefly at her arm before looking Damon in the eyes. "I'm not going _anywhere_," she declares. She sees the look in his eyes though and sighs. Speaking softly, in a calming voice only for Damon's ears, she tries reasoning with him. "I was fine the first time, and besides, Bonnie's spelled the gate so he can't hurt me." She is met with an incredulous expression so she then proceeds to give him a brief explanation.

"It's still dangerous, Caroline." He insists. "What if you don't get to the gate in time?"

"I _will_ get to the gate in time—I'm a vampire, remember—and anyway, staying in Mystic Falls is just as dangerous, but we're all doing _that, _aren't we?"

Damon's hand tightens its grip on her arm and she winces—more from long buried memories than any actual pain—but her eyes stay focused on his. She is not afraid of him anymore, she doesn't even hate him now, but a part of her still resents the feeling of being powerless. Focusing on this, she manages to turn her apprehension into strength. She stays calm and focuses her attention on him, assessing his feelings; she's getting better at that now. She sees a brief flicker of fear in his eyes and feels the faint pull of their connection.

Her free hand reaches up to caress his cheek for just a second, faster than Bonnie and Tyler can comprehend. "I'm going to be just fine, Damon. You won't lose me."

"Can you promise me that, Barbie?" he asks. His tone is dry and sarcastic, but Caroline can hear the request beneath his devil-may-care attitude. She smiles wryly.

"I even give you permission to stop by tomorrow to check on me if you wish to be sure."

He, of course, wouldn't need to, though; he'd feel it if anything were to happen to her. Giving him the option allows him choices, which she knows he needs so he'll let _her_ make her own decisions. She's almost positive he'll agree and leave, but after a moment of silence, he says, "Or I can just stay here."

"No, absolutely not," she says immediately before Tyler, whose looking even more agitated by the moment, can protest.

"Why not?" he asks.

Caroline gestures to the other side of the gate. "Do you honestly not see the effect you have on Tyler?" she asks. "Your staying would only put me in more danger."

For the first time, Damon bothers to look over at Tyler, who Bonnie is working hard to keep calm. His breathing is heavy, and he's not paying any attention to Bonnie, but is instead completely focused on Damon.

"He feels threatened by you."

"Why? Did you tell him about what happened between us when you were human?"

Caroline shakes her head, working hard to keep _those_ memories from taking over her mind—she can't think on that, not now. "No, he instinctively hates vampires, Damon. For the same reason you felt agitated when you were around Mason."

"So why is he not like that with you?"

"I don't know, exactly. I suppose he just likes me enough to fight that natural instinct."

"But you can _promise_ me you'll be safe."

She nods. "Yes, I'll be just fine."

After a little more arguing and reassuring, Damon agrees and Bonnie escorts him out, leaving Caroline alone with Tyler.

"Come on, Tyler," she says as she opens the gate and walks toward him, "we don't have a lot of time."

Immediately the two work to secure the chains around Tyler's body. Tyler says they only have about forty minuets until things start getting bad. When they're finished, Tyler grabs the water bottle Caroline had left there earlier, unscrews the cap, and puts it to his lips. Caroline, watching intently, notices his brief hesitation and trembling hands. He takes a deep breath and swallows for only a few second before he chokes and pushes the bottle away from him. Caroline tries not to cringe at the sound of his screams.

Despite her best efforts, as she works to soothe Tyler, her mind is not in the present, but back in the cage remembering the feeling of vervain water on her face and the intense pain from the wooden bullets. She can still hear the gun in her mind over Tyler's cries.

After some time, the water has been used as well as can be and the pain of pre-transformation hits Tyler fast. Caroline holds Tyler tightly, ignorant of his dirty, sweaty body. She pushes the memories of her torture to the back of her mind because Tyler needs her to be strong for him now.

She pays careful attention to his eyes, watches them flash golden during the more intense moments of pain. When his eyes fail to change back to his human color, Caroline squeezes him tightly. "I can't stay anymore, Tyler," she whispers soothingly. "I have to go to the other side of the gate."

The part of him that is giving into his 'wolf' tries to hold her tighter at those words, but the lucid 'human' part of him nods. "Go," he whispers hoarsely.

She hesitates for only a second before walking decidedly to the gate, separating herself from him, despite the urge to make sure he is okay. The stronger part of her is currently more concerned with her survival, however, and she locks the gate and watches with tears streaming down her face as the most painful part of the transformation occurs. Then, suddenly, Tyler's no longer human, and Caroline's staring at a grey and brown wolf.

It hits her in that moment that she has to be the first vampire, if not the first _being_, to ever witness the transformation and live to tell about it.

Tyler's golden wolf eyes lock on her and for a few seconds, he lets out a growl, but then something changes, and he's pacing the gate, right at the edge of the wall Bonnie had erected. He doesn't look at her until he turns during his pacing, only affording her a quick glance at each turn before turning his golden eyes to the floor.

She notices his slow gait, and the tremble in his legs and she knows he's in a world of pain. That is something she understands all too well, and once again, she shivers at the memories.

Tyler whimpers, bringing her back to reality. She wants to reach out through the bars and touch his fur to assure him that everything will be alright, but she knows that it wouldn't be true, and she refuses to lie to him ever again.


End file.
